SS: Gopi Studies (update page 2)

After the dhokla competition, Gopi remembers her other books and goes upstairs to retrieve them, Aham meanwhile is ready to go and spies his wife making her way upstairs again, he follows her, sees her stuffing her bag haphazardly, Aham helps Gopi sort her bag.

Meanwhile Rashi is packing Gopi's tiffin, she takes her dhokla the one everyone likes and grimaces, she was so tired, after working so hard preparing it she swapped it at the last minute for Gopi's ruining her hard-work, she wants to crawl back into bed, but that Kagdi will be calling her to do lunch next, she shrugs and says she will take one of the sleeping pills her mum gave her and she will sleep through any noise that Kagdi makes...idea!!! Gopi's tiffin Sleeping Pills, she quickly runs upstairs to get them, she comes down and crushes two of them over the dhokla in the tiffin box, closes it with a smile of satisfaction and leaves the kitchen.

Part 2

Rakhi comes to the Modi house in the afternoon, Jigar came home in the afternoon to meet her as he hasn't seen Rakhi since so long, they embrace (Jigar is quite modern as we saw him with Sonal and what he tries to hug Rashi and she shies away) Jigar asks so how have you been and she informs him what she is doing now after her teaching post grad qualification, she decided to come home to Rajkot and devote her time to the special needs school, she met Aham there and he informed her that he desperately needed help and here she is. Jigar asked her why she didn't get in touch when she returned she told him when she got back her family told her he had married so didn't wan't to interfere with is marriage, Jigar reassures her they will always be friends despite his being married. (Rashi is listening to all this, twisting her thin lips as she does when she is upset)

Jigar tells them he will leave them now and go upstairs but to inform him when she is about to leave after teaching Gopi. Rashi is about to follow him upstairs, Kadgi tells her to go into the kitchen to refreshments for the guest and snacks too, she stomps off to get them.

Gopi as usual is smiling and invites the guest to the spot outside the kitchen to start her studies. Similarly to the time with the masterji, Rashi makes lots of noise in the kitchen and breaks a tumbler and Gopi excuses herself to go see what is happening, Gopi brings the cool drink/sherbet and bhajia for her new teacher, to make the bhajia took 20 minutes, all this time Rakhi is twiddling her thumbs. When Gopi appears, Rakhi tells, so you think I don't have bhaji's at home, you need to spend 20 minutes making them for me? Gopi says no I just want to be hospitable, Rakhi says I just had lunch before coming here, next time just bring water and nothing else,after your study we will go in the kitchen together and have tea then I will leave for the day. Gopi agrees, they start the lesson.

Rakhi is impressed with Gopi's aptitude for learning, and that she knows all her alphabet now, after a week or two of formal teaching at the children's school, Rakhi sets her some exercises and is about to leave for the day and Jigar comes there and they catch up some more, Rakhi informs Jigar that it's her birthday and that she is having a party at home and would like him and his wife to come. Rashi isn't there but is resting upstairs, when Gopi came to takeover in the kitchen she used the opportunity to skedaddle, to inform her mum about the latest development with Rakhi on the telephone and rest on the bed.

Jigar goes upstairs and smiling tells Rashi about the birthday party this weekend and that she should buy a gift for Rakhi, Rashi says my foot, I'm not buying anything for her, I don't know her from Adam you buy the gift, Jigar says but you might think of something that she would like being a woman too, Rashi doesn't want to go shopping further she doesn't want her or Jigar to go to the party and tells him this, Jigar informs her that he has already accepted for them both and he wasn't going to renegade from a promise made to a friend. Rashi looks at him shocked, it's the first time he has ever said No to her, she is worried about Rakhi and what influence she has on Jigar, that her wants mean less to Jigar then Rakhi's.

Jigar leaves and goes to the mall and wanders around the shops aimlessly not knowing what to get Rakhi, who does he spot at the mall, but none other then the recipient of the birthday gift herself, they laughingly greet each other and sit down to have a coffee together. He notices that though she was as beautiful as always her fingers, weren't as buffed as they used to be at school and definitely not like Rashi's, he knows what he was going to get her for her birthday. Afterwards he walked her to her car and came back and entered the spa at the mall, and told them what he wanted, that the gift was for a lady that didn't look after her nails, cuticles looking horrible, they informed him the manicure package prices he purchased that and left.

Aham came home that evening and found Gopi in the room doing her exercises that Rakhi left her to do, she asked him if he wants something, he wanted his regular tea, that's what, but he said he wanted nothing. Kokila called her bahu and Gopi went, she informed her Aham was home and that she should brew some tea for him and give it to him, Gopi went into the kitchen, made the tea and came up to give it to Aham, he had freshened up and as usual boring Aham was working. Gopi brought him his tea and took her books from there and went down to the mandir to finish her work there, Rashi comes there, and asks Gopi what are you doing, (Gopi by this time has more or less finished the homework) Gopi tells her, and Rashi as usual leads her astray and smilingly leaves, Gopi redoes the homework as per Rashi's instructions, leaves it halfway goes to prepare dinner serves clears up and starts on the homework again, sleeps late, all this time Aham is thinking that Gawar has fallen asleep downstairs again, this sleeping syndrome of hers is getting worse.

Next day dawns, Gopi wakes up and stays with her routine, collect milk and boil it, cleaning mandir and kitchen, preparing breakfast, men leave for the office, prepares lunch serves it and goes to get her books ready downstairs for Rakhi's teaching session.

Rakhi arrives and meets everyone and greets them, Rashi doesn't answer and Rakhi notices this and thinks Aye Aye what have we here, a rift between husband and wife, goes to sit with Gopi and starts the lesson, she asks to see the homework, Rashi smiles, Rakhi observes Rashi, looks at the homework and asks Gopi kindly what made her draw the conclusion that this is what she wanted. Rakhi takes look at the note book in her hands and starts looking at the work done the day before trying to find the page where she told Gopi to note down what she was to do, with clear instructions, but instead she finds the work Gopi did earlier in there but Rashi told her not to submit to Rakhi, Rakhi looks at Gopi and says here you have done it, why have you decided this was not what I wanted and started to do this rubbish, Gopi swallows afraid but stays silent and looks at Rashi, who is loitering in the hall. Rakhi observes them, and sees fear on Gopi's face and on Rashi's face absolute defiance, Rakhi thinks hold on a minute, so this Jigar's wife controls Gopi, that though Gopi has done the work I told her to do, she would follow Rashi who is not the teacher, and the expression on Gopi's face shows what sort of personality Gopi has, a girl with no self esteem and eager to please type, who doesn't trust her own judgement.

Rakhi informs Gopi that when she gives her homework to follow her instructions and no-one elses, puts a red cross on the work Rashi told Gopi to do and informs her this is a waste of time, when you follow my instructions you don't waste time. If you decide to take on other people instructions they lead you astray, and asked her how long it took her to do this additional work, Gopi told her, Rakhi informed her it was totally unnecessary, she does a timetable with Gopi for 15 minutes, taking into account all her activities and asking her pertinent questions as to the bahus and the housework, who does what, and gets the picture as to what Rashi's game was.

After that exercise, Rakhi starts with the lesson and again notices Gopi has picked up the ideas quickly and is more at ease with Rakhi after they little heart to heart and scheduling exercise. After the lesson, Gopi takes Rakhi into the kitchen and they make pakora's and tea and sit in the kitchen and talk more about status quo in the house, who does what and so forth. They laughed a bit when Gopi tells Rakhi, Rashi has always been the maharani which requires head massages, beauty treatments and lots of shopping to make her world complete, and that she would settle for her husband appreciating her. Rakhi looks at this and sees Gopi's sad face and thinks wow, Aham hasn't changed even in school, he was a few classes ahead of Jigar and herself but he was a real workaholic even then, and devoted no time for social life.

After they heart to heart, Rakhi left, thanking her lucky stars for not letting her bump into Jigar again today, as she was getting tired of the small talk, reminiscing about they past times when he ditched her to marry someone who he didn't even know and who is causing havoc in his home.

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